Lady Gaga: Fern species named after pop star

Fate, science and Lady Gaga have collided, and the result is a brand new genus of fern species. In a news release by Duke University, Kathleen Pryer, biology professor and director of the Duke Herbararium describes the uncanny connection between the new-found ferns and the pop star, representing a scientific event that could only have been foretold by the likes of Nostradamus.

One of the 19 new species reproduces bisexually, and when in reproductive mode, resembles a Lady Gaga costume worn during a Grammy Awards performance. The release of Gaga's "Born This Way" cemented the name of this fern. "I just found it enormously empowering for the LGBT community, women in science, odd scientists who study weird ferns," says Pryer.

The professor describes other connections, including a likeness between a growing plant and the Lady Gaga fan salute, in addition to multiple DNA strings that literally spell out "GAGA."

Names of the new fern species include Gaga germanotta -- after the artist's given name, Stefani Germanotta -- and Gaga monstraparva, which translates literally too "monster little," a nod to Gaga's nickname for her fans -- "little monsters."